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Topics - MR

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1
General Discussion / FACEBOOK SCAMMERS
« on: 10 March, 2024, 04:05:18 AM »
G'day all!
Just want to let everyone know that my wife Linh's facebook account has been hacked and some ratbag is trying to con her contacts into "lending" them some money in the false belief that it's Linh calling them. Please be assured that neither I nor Linh would EVER try and borrow or ask for money from anyone except the bank - and even then we'd think twice about it!
Cheers
Scouse/Martin/MR

2
General Discussion / HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!
« on: 24 January, 2024, 12:49:54 AM »
We've had (muted) "western" Christmas and New Year celebrations here in Vietnam and the country will soon come to a standstill as the bulk of nearly 100 million residents travel home to celebrate the advent of 2024 Lunar New Year ("Tet") with their families: Chuc mung nam moi!

3
General Discussion / Pam's new email address + bulk listing
« on: 18 November, 2023, 12:17:10 PM »
Greetings everyone - delighted to share the good news that website owner Pam has finally managed to go virtually full circle and get her "forever email address" back online, thanks to website host Poul. So please adjust your contact lists to dump Pam's earlier gmail and/or "binn" addresses and replace with the one circulated a few minutes ago to bulk email list members as shown below (email addresses removed for security reasons; if required, please email me direct or leave a message on this thread).
Cheers
Scouse/MR on behalf of owner Pam, mine host Poul, admin Lee, and moderators Pam, Lee, me, Ken.
Bulk email list members as at 18 November 2023:
Pam McDonald
Martin "Scouse/MR" Ratia
Lynn "Lee" Burgess
Ken "Outback traveller" Mackenzie
John Darling
Terry Winsor
Steve Mason
Eddie Roberts
Ern Hudson
Geoff & Christine Southby
Graham Keogh
John "JK" & Babs Knowles
Steve Iceton
Leon Jeffery
Ray "Jumbo" Jordan
Bob Doe
Darryl Anderson
Alby Simpson
Poul Malmkjaer-Mason
.../ends

4
General Discussion / Another new member for MB
« on: 05 November, 2023, 11:14:57 AM »
Greetings all!
You have probably already noticed a new member "Bob" mentioned on the MB. Bob is Robert "Bob" Doe, former 6 Light Regiment LAD REME, Jan 65 - May 68. He posted on the GB asking questions about the Shades of Blue and if a copy of their record 'In the Midnight hour' was on the 208 site (as far as we can tell, it disappeared along with other stuff during one of the recent website reconstructions, but site Admin Lee Burgess found 3 links that might help him locate a copy). Bob says he's here because "I like looking at the photos and memories". Don't we all!
We don't know if Bob's time in 28 Bde overlaps with Eddie Roberts' (REME att 208 Sigs, early 1960s), but they'll surely work that one out by themselves!
In the meantime, Bob's email address has been added to the bulk emailing list for emergency use when contact via this MB is not possible. If you haven't received a copy, please let me know on this thread or by direct email to linhmartin@yahoo.com
Cheers, Scouse/MR

5
General Discussion / Help with technical issues on this MB
« on: 26 October, 2023, 08:48:24 AM »
G'day all!
It's not technically possible for the SMF software used to create this MB to send emails to users seeking assistance with registration, resetting passwords, changing user details incl. avatars, etc. If you need assistance with any of those or similar "technical" issues, simply explain the problem and email it to 208admin@marsden.me.uk - where it will be automatically forwarded to website Admin Lynn "Lee" Burgess for review, follow-up and (hopefully) resolution.
If anyone tries (or has tried) that approach unsuccessfully, please post the details in this thread (including dates) so they can be read by and/or forwarded to Lee if necessary.
Cheers, on behalf of owner/moderator Pam, Admin Lee and moderators MR and Outback Traveller

6
General Discussion / A 208-related story
« on: 22 October, 2023, 03:29:14 AM »
Here's a tale I just shared with some former 208 MB regulars on email:
My Vietnamese nephew Tony lives in Australia these days (his mum sponsored him over after she married a VN Aussie) and he told us on one of our visits downunder a few years ago (we live mostly in VN these days to care for our 11yo niece) that he'd applied and been rejected for the ADF (Aussie army). I had a look at the case and realised that both sides (him and the ADF) had made several misinterpretations at various stages of his application, so we lodged four separate appeals (3 medical, 1 education) and he won them all. He's now been a grunt in 5 RAR (Adelaide and Darwin) for nearly 5 years (his graduation from basic training at Kapooka was an incredibly emotional event for the family!).
Anyway, life continued for all of us and then he surprised us about 6 months ago by saying he'd been selected for jungle warfare training near JB (Malaysia) with British special forces - and that's where he is as I type this post, hence my comment about this being a 208-related story! Linh, me and our niece (Tony's 11yo sister, Sunny, who lives with us in VN) are all heading over to Singapore to catch up with him next weekend - but he's staying at the Marina Bay Sands (the Oz army always did pay well, as I recall!) and we're staying on Orchard Road so Linh and Sunny can go shopping!
How did that old saying go? Certa Cito, sh*t or bust, if heaven doesn't getya, the devil must!

7
General Discussion / Add a fb link to the MB and/or GB - yes/no?
« on: 29 July, 2023, 02:48:49 PM »
G'day all
I've been flat-chat since getting back to VN from our recent trip downunder, so haven't really made any progress with researching the possibility of replacing and/or linking Message Board/Guest Book to a new facebook group. However, one thing that seems fairly obvious is that it's not entirely straightforward. On top of that is the difficulty of discontinuing either or both. Here's a copy of the advice I just read elsewhere:
How do I delete a Facebook group that I admin?
If you're a group admin, you can delete your Facebook group by removing all members (in private groups) or banning all members (in public groups) and then leaving the group, as long as the group creator has left the group or you are the group creator. When no members remain in the group, it will automatically be deleted.
Deleting a group is permanent and cannot be reversed. Alternatively, you can pause a group. Learn about the differences between pausing and deleting. .../ends
Given the apparent lack of interest since Lee valiantly rebuilt Pam's 208 Sigs site despite many obstacles that would have floored lesser people, I can only wonder if it would be worthwhile starting a facebook group that might never take off and therefore cause the originator some almighty headaches trying to get rid of it again!
Any comments/offers of help?

8
General Discussion / WELCOME BACK EVERYONE!
« on: 15 June, 2023, 06:31:27 AM »
Just thought I'd share the news that most former MB regulars have already heard by email, ie that thanks to several years of amazing perseverance against often quite intimidating odds, Lynn "Lee" Burgess has rebuilt the 208 (Comwel) Sig Sqn website, now kindly hosted by Steve Mason's son Poul in Denmark (208 was nothing if not global!). Pam's still the site owner, of course, with Lee as Admin and Scouse (MR), Pam and "Outback Traveller" Ken helping out as moderators. So here we are - back to something close to normal once more, with Covid and other obstacles firmly behind us - all ready to continue chatting as though the past 2-3 years simply never happened. I'll drink to that - yeehaaa!  ;D ;D ;D

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General Discussion / Replacing the Guest Book
« on: 15 May, 2023, 02:22:31 PM »
Greetings all!
This post follows the email just sent to all registered former users of Pam's 208 Sigs website Message Board, inviting suggestions, comments, etc to replace the now inoperable Guest Book. All responses will be assessed at end-May to help decide how (or "if") to replace the GB. Please feel free to make any comments etc that you wish - but try to keep them usable and positive (ie, no expensive replacements, nor suggestions for something that could test the technical understanding of the average website visitor).
Cheers
Martin "Scouse" Ratia (on behalf of website owner Pam, admin Lee, and fellow moderators Ken and Pam)

10
General Discussion / Margot Burgess - RIP
« on: 19 January, 2023, 12:08:28 PM »
208 Sigs website reconstruction expert Lynn "Lee" Burgess has granted permission for the following sad news about his wife, Margot ("Meg"), to be posted to the 208 Sigs community. In an earlier email, Lee wrote "Meg has been in hospital for the vast majority of the last 6 months (cancer, specifically lymphoma, renal failure, et al). She is fighting like a tiger, but is being kept 'under' to ease the pain, she now receiving end of life care at our local hospital."

----- Forwarded message -----
From: Lynn Burgess
Sent: Thursday, 19 January 2023 at 09:22:13 am AEDT

Sadly, I have to inform that we lost Margot about 1630 18 Jan 2023. Her passing, while medicated, was peaceful.

Pain is only for those who remain. RIP

With profound regret

Lee

11
General Discussion / Merry Xmas, Happy New Year!
« on: 10 December, 2022, 07:45:42 AM »
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year 2023 to all ex-208'ers. Fingers crossed for peace, financial stability, no more covid and an end to political bullies and authoritarianism in all its forms!
Cheers
Scouse/MR/Martin, Linh & our niece/ward Sunny

12
General Discussion / Kylie and Jason - the truth at last!
« on: 03 August, 2022, 11:59:08 AM »
Dunno how many Neighbours fans are on this MB (apart from Pam!), but this link answers the question about Kylie and Jason having such small speaking parts in the recently screened final episode: https://au.yahoo.com/lifestyle/truth-behind-baffling-neighbours-moment-revealed-232746870.html - I'm not sure, but the link didn't turn blue with underline, so you might have to copy and paste it into your browser...

13
General Discussion / Just gotta share this one!
« on: 23 June, 2022, 01:29:30 PM »
The last couple of years have been pretty tough for everyone, I think - we've all had our challenges. And that's why I was delighted to discover the great news today that my superannuation scheme will cover Linh and Sunny if I die before them (I've just never checked before, but the VN gov't wants our full financial circumstances as they assess our application for 'expat adoption', so I checked with the super scheme and now it's all confirmed!). I had always thought it might be the case with Linh because I remember being invited to name a beneficiary. But Sunny was an unexpected surprise - she'll qualify for 'dependent child' allowance (nearly 80% of full pension) after she's lived with us for five years, regardless of whether the adoption process goes ahead or not.
We're just passing the four years mark now, so I've only gotta stay alive one more year and she'll be covered until she's 18 (or 25 if studying full time) as long as we can prove she's been living with us for at least five years - which is easy in Vietnam because every household has a 'family book' listing the occupants with dates in, dates out, etc signed by the local People's Committee (they love to know where everyone is from one day to the next - and in this particular case it will be very useful!).
I've gotta say I've had unexpectedly good news before, but today's confirmation that Linh and Sunny will be looked after if (when?) I go before them just absolutely takes first place in my book - YEEEHAAAAA!  ;D ;D ;D

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General Discussion / NEW MSG FOR STEVE ICETON
« on: 31 May, 2022, 02:19:32 PM »
G'day Steve - did you make it onto this General Discussion page yet? If so, just press reply and post your response. Cheers, Scouse.

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General Discussion / A ray of sunshine - plus flying to Oz
« on: 20 April, 2022, 03:27:12 AM »
There's not much for anyone to be happy about these days - anything from Russia attacking Ukraine to Covid lockdowns or even the weather! But LFC giving Man U a 4-0 shellacking to follow the season's earlier 5-0 hammering is truly a bright spot in all the murk! Also flying back to Oz today for a quick 3 weeks to fix a few things that have fallen apart while we've been away for more than 2 years on what was supposed to be a 4 months trip! It was made possible because the VN visa rules changed and I was gonna have to do a renewal run to the border anyway, but VNA suddenly dropped their airfares to below pre-Covid levels so why not go a bit further? Mind you, I could write a book about the bureaucracy involved at both ends - I've got enough soft and hard copies of various health declarations and associated QR codes to fill a library! Happy days...............

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